About the Project

The Inevitable by Ibrahim Mohammed El-Salahi India Ink on 9 panels viewed together, 209 x 238 in. Courtesy of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University. Purchased with proceeds from the African Acquisistion Fund.

Dr. Salah Hassan, Associate Professor, in Africana Studies and the the History of Art departments, Cornell University, Founder/Director, Institute of Contemporary African Visual Arts, Editor, Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art, Ithaca, NY, USA.   Florence Alexis, French Association for Artistic Action (AFAA), Paris, France. John Henrik Clarke Africana Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.

This pioneering venture, which is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, will create a computerized database of contemporary African artists and generate a series of bio-bibliographic dictionaries, all fully illustrated. It aims to promote networking among African artists throughout the world and to encourage new initiatives in the collection, documentation and dissemination of contemporary African art. The database is classified by country and will include artists who have been working since the 1920's, in addition to important artists from earlier dates. Both database and printed volumes will include sections on public and private art museums, galleries, archives, collections, art schools, and other resources relevant to each country. Artists who wish to be considered for inclusion in the database should submit the questionnaire and personal information and copyright release form. The personal information and copyright release from must be sent to us via regular mail, as we need the original document with signature on file for our records. The questionnaire, however, may be transmitted electronically to afrartists-mailbox@cornell.edu. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view and print out these forms. You may obtain text/web versions of these forms by clicking here. Photographs, slides, and/or transparencies may be submitted via regular mail to one of the addresses below. JPEGs may be sent to our e-mail address. Please mail your comments, suggestions and/or supporting material to one of the addresses below: ICAVA 170 Uris Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-7601 John Henrick Clarke Africana Library 310 Triphammer Road Ithaca, NY 14850-2599   or via e-mail: afrartists-mailbox@cornell.edu